ipl-logo

Theme Of Enmity In To Kill A Mockingbird

729 Words3 Pages

Sources of Enmity in To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a timeless, touching novel that examines stereotyping and its consequences. The novel follows Atticus Finch, a small-town lawyer, as he defends a black man, Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping a white woman in Maycomb, Alabama. The novel also shows how the lives of Atticus' children, Scout and Jem, are affected and how what they experience influences the way they grow up. It allows us to see characters like Boo Radley and Bob Ewell as they add to the theme of racism and prejudice as well. To Kill a Mockingbird deals most obviously with racial prejudice but the greater lesson has to do with class differences and how a person's inherited social status unfairly …show more content…

Characters such as Atticus' sister Alexandra tend to believe that because of her family and social status she is better than others. She mentions in the novel that she thinks of Walter Cunningham as trash and Scout shouldn't associate with him. Despite the fact that Scout and Jem are young they do have a slight understanding of the clear social differences in their town. Jem mentions "There's four kinds of folks in the world. There’s the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, the Cunninghams, the Ewells, and the negroes"(Lee chapter 23). While Jem has a good idea of social class Scout doesn't understand it completely. When Mr. Cunningham had to pay Atticus with hickory nuts Scout didn't realize that they didn't have money to pay Atticus. He explains to Scout that they aren't as poor as the Cunninghams because the Great Depression hit farmers harder than others. In conclusion, To Kill a Mockingbird follows the hardships and troubles of Atticus and his family as they deal with the trial of Tom Robinson. The novel clearly deals with the tension caused by racial prejudice and social differences. We see that characters such as Boo Radley and the Cunninghams are mistreated and mistrusted because of their social status. Tom Robinson however is mistreated because of his race. Throughout the entire novel a clear picture is given of how racism and prejudice affect everyone surrounded by it and how it causes others to be unfairly

Show More
Related

  • Theme Of Corruption In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1036 Words  | 5 Pages

    In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper E. Lee, the story of protagonist Scout and her older brother Jem unfolds in the small but talkative town of Maycomb, Alabama, where they are raised by their insightful, loving father Atticus. Over the span of a short three years with their sidekick Dill, they spend their childhood days tormenting and daydreaming about town legend Boo Radley, causing shenanigans all over town and not wasting a moment of their care-free, young lives. However, the friends’ summer fun ceases when Scout and Jem especially are faced with traumatic and influential experiences like the renowned Tom Robinson case that send them quickly down the path into young adulthood. The corruption and people of Maycomb send Jem blindly spiraling

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Education In To Kill A Mockingbird?

    1163 Words  | 5 Pages

    “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”(Lee 30). These are the words of Atticus Finch, the wisest character in the famous novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. He is a fictional man that embodies human traits that all people should strive to emulate. In the novel; narrated by Atticus’ daughter Jean Louise Finch, more often referred to as Scout; Atticus defends a black man, Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping a white female, Mayella Ewell. The main message of the text is the prominence of racial injustice, specifically in the 1930’s, the era the novel takes place in.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1152 Words  | 5 Pages

    The immense segregation in the south proves to be harmful and almost unavoidable, sometimes even getting people killed. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird shows us what it is like to be a black person in the 1930s (disliked, segregated, and set apart from others). The world-renowned author, Harper Lee, has written many books. Still, many believed this to be one of his finest works, showing an adventurous, fun, and interesting but also sad, and sorrowful story in a small town (Maycomb) in Alabama. The book teaches valuable life lessons but also displays a sad example of prejudice.

    Read More

  • How Does Harper Lee Use Irony In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1131 Words  | 5 Pages

    Lee uses Miss Gates’s ironic views of Hitler and Tom’s trial to show how racial prejudice causes crimes against African Americans to be considered less than crimes committed against white people. A mockingbird is then used to symbolize Tom Robinson as an innocent person wrongly convicted of a crime because of his skin color. The misunderstood characterization of Arthur Radley shows how society will let prejudice guide their imaginated view on the lives of people they don't understand. All three characters provide examples of how a preconceived opinion of one person or a whole race can cause drastic misunderstandings and

    Read More

  • Examples Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

    860 Words  | 4 Pages

    The novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” was written in 1960 by Harper Lee in the point of view of a young innocent girl named Scout. One of the main messages that Lee has (need a new word than – indicated or set out) is racism, it plays an important role which strongly impacts many character’s lives unfairly and changes the relationship between two. Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” shows that it is wrong to hurt someone who does no harm to you, for example, black people are innocent but no way did they have as many rights as white people did. Black people lived hard lives because society was judgemental, irrational and most importantly, racist. As Scout and Jem grow older they learn to cope, take responsibility and are introduced to new aspects of life, one of which is racism.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Kindness In To Kill A Mockingbird

    864 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, some people do not recognize that someone wants to help them. The people mentioned had been given or received kindness from someone but they do not know that they are trying to help. The types of kindness that will be shown is kindness within the Finch family, kindness shown through neighbours, and kindness of acquaintances. It is shown that kindness is taken for granted.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Racial Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

    754 Words  | 4 Pages

    Race has always been a part of history, from slavery to MLK, to Barack Obama. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee defines race in the south during the 1930’s. Jean “Scout” Finch, is the narrator of the story. Her brother Jeremy “Jem” and her dad, Atticus, are both main characters. Calpurnia is their house cook and helper, she is also black.

    Read More

  • Stereotypes In To Kill A Mockingbird

    757 Words  | 4 Pages

    To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is the story of a small town named Maycomb Located in Alabama, highlighting the adventures of the finch children and many other people in the small town. The people in this town are very judgemental and of each other and it often leads to people being labeled with stereotypes and people think they know everything about that person however that is not reality. It is not possible to know the reality of a person 's life by placing a stereotype without seeing it through their own eyes and experiencing the things they experience. This happens often throughout the story with many people in the town. People are labeled as many things such a “monster” a “nigger” and many other things that seem to put them in their

    Read More

  • Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

    1146 Words  | 5 Pages

    To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee tells a story of racial prejudice during the Depression and how it is combated. The main development in the novel is that a Atticus, the father of Scout and Jem, has been appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a young white woman named Mayella. Many people in the town of Maycomb, particularly people involved with the case of Tom, have a negative attitude towards African Americans. Prejudice was a terrible issue in the South during the Depression, but Atticus Finch shows that racial injustice can be combated in two main ways, each having different levels of effectiveness.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Theme Of Injustice

    592 Words  | 3 Pages

    Of the numerous themes from Harper Lee’s famous novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, one stands out, injustice. This subject appears multiple times throughout the book. Firstly, Mr. Ewell demonstrates injustice towards the Finch family by insulting them and harming them. Again injustice shows itself in Tom Robinson’s false accusation. Lastly, this horrible topic becomes apparent in Aunt Alexandra’s actions towards Calpurnia.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Point Of View Essay

    614 Words  | 3 Pages

    Finally, as the book comes to conclusion Tom Robinson, a black man, is pleaded quilty with the charge of raping a white women. Throughout the novel, it was proven all he was trying to do and aiming for was to help a young girl. People in society gain the evil assumption that all black men and women aren 't equal to those of a different race. A part in the novel that proves how intolerable the society is; on page 242, "A white man 's word, against a black man 's word, the white man always wins" (Lee). This quote shows how the main reason Tom was guilty was due to the color of his skin.

    Read More

  • The Literary Context Of To Kill A Mockingbird

    4088 Words  | 17 Pages

    The clear main themes in the novel are both gender equality and racial segregation, which Lee presents through the storyline and the prejudiced characters. Tom Robinson 's lawsuit and its conclusion show that justice was primarily based on the white society 's perception of the law. The jury consists only of white men, who are all prejudiced towards the African-American people. “ ' 'The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury

    Read More

  • Theme Of Bully In To Kill A Mockingbird

    830 Words  | 4 Pages

    As can be seen, Lee’s usage of Tom Robinson’s trial and the racial discrimination and prejudice seen throughout it helps reinforce the theme of social injustice throughout To Kill A Mockingbird. Another encounter that the

    Read More

  • Examples Of Racial Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

    857 Words  | 4 Pages

    Essay In the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee, there are many important messages shown throughout the book. However the primary focus was set on racial prejudice that existed in the 1930s-1940’s in the fictional town of Maycomb County. The racism in the novel was very much a reality in 1930s-1940s America. A very good example of the racial prejudice that existed was in the courtroom during Tom Robinson’s trial, an innocent Negro man held against his will for a crime he did not commit.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

    858 Words  | 4 Pages

    One of the main themes of the novel is Racism. During the time of depression, racism and poverty were a common issue. People with a dark skin tone, i.e the African- Americans were seen as derogatory and treated like dirt. Harper Lee depicts it in a very realistic way.

    Read More

More about Theme Of Enmity In To Kill A Mockingbird

Open Document